Improvement in mechanical musical instruments



E; P. NEEDHAM. Mechanical Musical Instrument.

Patented Nov. 4,1879.

N. PETERS. PflQYO-LJTHOGRAPHER WASHINGTON. D c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ELIAS I. NEEDHAM, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

IMPROVEMENT IN MECHANICAL MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 221,343, dated November 4, 1879; application filed July 31, 1879. I i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELIAs P. Nnnnniur, of the city of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Mechanical Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of me chanical organs and other mechanical musical instruments in which the playing is automatically efiected by the passage of a strip or sheet of perforated paper or other equivalent musicsheet through the instrument.

In instruments of this kind the perforated paper or music-sheet is usually placed in the instrument wound upon a roller, which may be called the music-roller, and is passed therefrom through the instrument, after which 'it is rolled upon another. roller, called the take-up roller. The perforated paper or ma sic sheet may pass over an action board to control the admission or" air to operate pipes or reeds, or may be used to operate any mechanical devices, such as hammers, bells, d e, by which musical sounds are produced.

One of my improvements consists in the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument, with a main driving-shaft, of a flywheel mounted thereon, a treadle for imparting mo" tion to said shaft, and a take-up roller inde pendent of and separate from the drivingsli aft, having motion imparted to it from said main driving-shaft through intermediate mechanism, thereby effecting the movement of the pa per without the use of separate feed-rollers.

Another of my improvements consists in the combination, in a mechanical musical instrument, with a main driving-shaft, of a flywheel mounted thereon, a treadle for impartin g motion to said shaft, a musicroller, a takenp roller, a friction wheel or pulley, whereby motion is imparted from said driving-shaft to said take-up roller, a separate and independent friction wheel or pulley, whereby motion is imparted to the music roller, and means for bringing one of said friction wheels or pulleys into operation and one out of operation, so as to effect the driving of either of said rollers.

Other improvements consist in details and combinations of parts hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, I Figure 1 represents a side elevation of an instrument embodying my improvements, aportion of the side being broken away to better illustrate my invention. Fig. represents a side view of a portion of the opposite side of the instrument. Fig. 3 represents a vertical section of the upper portion of the same, and Fig. at a detail view of certain parts-thereof.

Similar letters of reference designate corresponding parts in all the figures.

A designates the main driving-shaft of the instrument, extending from side to side thereof, and having a flywheel, B, mounted upon it. Motion is imparted to said drivingshaft by means of treadles O l), which are represented as acting, through connecting-rods O D, upon the crank O and fly-wheel B on the main shaft A. Although the connecting-rod D is here shown as secured to the iiy-wheel, an independent crank similar to 0 might be used.

E F designate a pair of bellows, by which the wind-chest G is exhausted of air, and which are operated through links a and b from the treadles C l). The wind-chest G- is shown as communicating, by means of duct-s c, with an action-board, H, in which are reed-tubes (Z and reeds c. the reeds, if desirable, with good results.

I designates a perforated paper strip or music-sheet, which is rolled upon the music-roller I preparatory to playing, and passes therefrom over the action-board H to the take-up roller 1 upon which it is rolled and by which it is drawn forward over the action-board. The said take-up roller is preferably of considerabl y larger d iameter than the m usic-roller, as in such case the increase of its diameter as the mnsicsheet is wound upon it is less, and the said sheet is not subjected to undue strain.

Motion is in'iparted to the said take-up roller P from the main driving-shaft A by means of an intermediate wheel or pulley, J, which is in frictional contact with a pulley, Jf, upon the driving-shaft A, and transmits its motion to the take-up roller 1 through a friction-pulley, J mounted on the shaft of said roller. The pulley J is mounted in a bearing-block, K, (see Fig. 4,) pivoted at f to thcside of the instrulipes might be substituted for ment, and represented as forced down by a spring, g, to hold the pulley J in frictional contact with the pulleys J and J K designates a lever, pivoted to the side of the instrument at h, and having a cam-face, 1 which, by pulling the handle 'of the rod K may be brought in contact with the pivoted block K, for the purpose of raising the pulley J out of contact with the pulleys Jand J.

In lieu of the frictional gearing for driving the take-up roller I a belt might be employed with equally good results, in which case the pulley J would serve simply as a tighteningpulley.

\Vhen the driving of the take-up roller is effected by friction, as in the present instance, one or more of the friction-pulleys may have a rubber band upon them for increasing their effectiveness.

For the purpose of rewinding the musicsheet upon the music-roller I, I have shown said roller as mounted at one end in a bellcrank lever or support, Ii, pivoted to the side of the instrument at j, and adapted to be oscillated to bring a pulley, L, mounted upon the said music-roller, in contact with a wheel or pulley upon the main driving-shaft, which, in this instance, is the ;ly-wheel B. \Vhen it is desired to rewind the music-sheet upon the music-roller I, it is necessary to disengage the take-up roller 1 from the main drivingshaft A, and, preferably, the engagement of the music-roller with and the disengagement of the take-up roller from said driving mechanism are effected simultaneously. The means here shown for accomplishing this consist of a piece or bar, M, extending transversely across the instrument parallel with the shaft A, and pivoted in the sides at 7t, so as to be free to swing or oscillate upon said pivot. At one end the piece M is provided near one edge with a pin, 1, which engages with a slot, m in the hinged bearing-block K, in such manner that the raising of said block oscillates the said bar or piece M and depresses a pin, a, secured in its opposite end. hen the said pin is depressed the end of the hinged bellcrank support L is released, whereupon the spring N depresses the said support and forces the pulley L, mounted upon the music-roller 1, against the rim of the fly-wheel B with such force that the said music-roller I is rotated thereby and the music-sheet rewound upon it. The spring g should be of greater strength than the spring N, so that when the instrument is playing the bearing-block K is forced down, and, through the oscillation of the bar or piece M, the end of the hinged bell-crank support L is raised and the rewinding mechanism rendered inoperative.

It is obvious that any suitable means might be substituted for the oscillating piece M such, for instance, as a lever acted upon at one end by the hinged bearingblock K, and acting at the other end upon bell'crank-lever support L.

In order to prevent the reeds from sounding as the music-sheet is rewound, I have represented a valve, 0, which may be opened by the hand when the music-sheet is being rewound, and which is represented as closed by a spring, 0.

In order to provide a means for starting the instrument in case the main shaft should become stuck on the center, I have represented a ratchet-wheel, p, as mounted on the shaft A, and a pawl, q, pivoted to a draw-bar, 1', adapted to be moved longitudinally by the handle 8.

In order to effect the automatic working of the pawl, I have represented a block, 1, against which the curved cam-like end of the pawl q strikes as the draw-bar is pushed in, thereby moving said pawl to a position to operate on the teeth of the ratchet-wheel. As the drawbar is pulled out the pawl strikes a stationary pin, a, and is by it disengaged from the teeth of the ratchet-wheel.

It is obvious that the details of my instru' ment might be altered, if desirable, to suit. different situations without altering the character of the instrument.

it-h a heavy fiy-wheel. it may be only necessary to have one connecting-rod and crank for imparting motion to the shaft A, and the mechanism connecting the driving-shaft with the music-roller and take-up roller might be modified, if desirable.

As by my invention I am enabled to effect the engagement of the music-roller with and the disengagement of the take-up roller from. the driving-shaft without stopping the same or changing the direction of its motion, a piece of music may be played, rewound, and played again, or any part thereof repeated, without varyin the rotation of the drivingshaft.

IVhat I claim as myinvention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with a main driving-shaft, of a flywheel mounted thereon, a-treadlc for imparting motion to said driving-shaft, and a take-up roller independent of and separate from the drivin g-shaft, having motion imparted to it from said driving shaft through independent mechanism, substantially as specitied.

2. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with a main driving-shaft, of a fly-wheel mounted thereon, a treadlc for iniparting motion to said shaft, a music-roller, a take-up roller, a friction wheel or pulley, whereby motion is imparted from said driving-shaft to said take-up roller, a separate and independ ent friction wheel or pulley, whereby motion is imparted to the music-roller, and means for bringing one of said friction wheels or pulleys into operation and one out of operation, so as to effect the driving of either of said rollers, substantially as specified.

3. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with a main driving'shai't, of a fly-wheel mounted thereon, a treadle for imparting motion to said driving-shaft, a takeup roller, wheels or pulleys mounted on said drivin g-shaft and the shaft of said take-up roller, and an intermediate wheel or pulley adapted to be brought into frictional contact with said pulleys for transmitting motion from the drivjug-shaft to the take-up roller, substantially as specified.

4. The combination, with the main driy'ing shaft A and the take-up roller 1 of the wheels or pulleys J J the wheel or pulley J, mounted in the pivoted bearing-block K, the lever K, and rod K substantially as specified.

5. The combination, with the driving-shaft A, music-roller I, and take-up roller 1", of the pivoted bearing-block K, the oscillating piece M, and the bell-crank-lever support L, with its wheel or pulley L, substantially as specified.

(5. The combination, with the main drivingshaft A and fly-wheel B, of the bell-erank-lever support L, wheel 01 pulley L, oscillating piece or bar M, and spring N, substantially as specified.

7. In a mechanical musical instrument, the combination, with the main driving-shaft A, of the ratchetwheel p, pawl q, having a camshaped face at one end, draw-bar 1", block I, and pin 11, substantially as specified.

ELIAS P. NEEDIIAM.

Vitnesses VVALTER BURT, SAMUEL KILPATRICK. 

